The architect and designer Robert Mallet-Stevens was one of the first French artists to realize that the traditional French feel for the highest craft quality and artistic taste, could no longer “compete” with the “modern” qualities of Austrian and German design which had been introduced into France with a group of artists from Munich at the Salon d' Automne inl 1910. So that from 1913, in his Salon de musique exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, he introduced a style based on clean-cut lines and geometric forms, a style that was followed in the design of the Parisian residences and department stores during the 20’s and 30’s. Like his companions he believed that the furnishing of the future needed to conform with the demands of the modern lifestyle, with simplicity being the principal criteria. The chairs that he designed, which were usually made from tubular steel, sometimes upholstered with fabrics of Cubist inspiration, characterized by basic clean cut lines and muted colours.